Arc flash assessments and thermographic scanning are often treated as separate line items on a facility’s safety budget: two independent services, scheduled independently, producing separate reports that live in separate binders.
That separation is a missed opportunity, and in some cases, a genuine safety gap.
These two services address the same underlying problem from different angles. An arc flash assessment models what your system could do under fault conditions. Thermographic scanning shows you what your system is already doing right now, in real time, under operating load. When you integrate them into a single risk-reduction workflow, the result is something more useful than either produces alone.
1. What Arc Flash Assessments Can and Cannot Tell You
An arc flash assessment is an engineering study. It models your electrical system, calculates available fault current at key equipment locations, and determines the incident energy a worker could be exposed to in an arc flash event. The output drives PPE requirements, establishes approach boundaries, and labels equipment.
What an arc flash assessment does not tell you is the current condition of your equipment. It assumes the system is operating as designed. It does not know whether a bus connection has been slowly loosening over three years of thermal cycling. It does not detect the corroded lug that is increasing resistance at a critical junction. It does not see the breaker that has tripped and reset enough times to have degraded internal components.
Those conditions do not change your incident energy calculations directly. But they do change the likelihood of a fault event occurring. Likelihood is the other half of the risk equation that an arc flash study alone does not address.
Related reading: How Arc Flash Assessments Support Long-Term Facility Planning and Upgrades
2. What Thermographic Scanning Adds to the Picture
Thermographic scanning using infrared cameras detects heat anomalies in electrical equipment while it is energized and under load. Heat is the symptom of resistance, and resistance is the precursor to failure. A loose connection increases resistance. A failing component increases resistance. An overloaded circuit increases resistance. Each one produces a thermal signature that a qualified thermographer can identify, classify by severity, and document.
Here is the critical link to arc flash risk: the same conditions that create thermal anomalies also create fault initiation pathways. A high-resistance connection that is overheating is a connection that can eventually fail catastrophically. That failure, depending on the available fault current at that location, is a potential arc flash event.
Thermographic scanning does not replace an arc flash assessment. What it does is identify the physical deterioration in your system that increases the probability of the fault event your arc flash study describes. Together, they cover both dimensions of electrical risk: consequence and likelihood.
Related reading: Arc Flash Awareness: Why Your Workers’ Lives Depend On It
3. Hot Spots That Connect Directly to Arc Flash Risk
Not every thermal anomaly is an arc flash precursor. A slightly warm conductor in a low-incident-energy panel is a maintenance issue, not an emergency. But certain categories of thermal findings, particularly when combined with arc flash study data, warrant priority corrective action.
High-Resistance Connections in High-Fault-Current Equipment
The highest-risk thermal findings are hot spots located in equipment where your arc flash assessment calculated high incident energy levels. A loose bus connection in the main switchgear that carries 40 cal/cm2 or higher incident energy is a different matter than the same type of finding in a 120V branch circuit panel. Integrating thermographic findings with your arc flash study data lets you triage corrective actions by actual risk rather than treating all anomalies equally.
Failing Breakers and Protective Devices
Overcurrent protection devices that have been repeatedly operated, or that are carrying load near their trip threshold, often show elevated temperatures. More importantly, a breaker with internal degradation may not operate correctly under fault conditions, which means the fault current your arc flash study accounted for may not be interrupted within the assumed clearing time. Slower clearing means higher incident energy than your labels reflect.
Overloaded Conductors and Bus Sections
Conductors running consistently above their rated ampacity generate sustained heat that degrades insulation over time. Degraded insulation is a ground fault and arc flash precursor. Thermal scanning identifies these conditions before the insulation failure occurs.
Corroded or Oxidized Connections
Oxidation increases contact resistance, which generates heat, which accelerates oxidation further. It is a deterioration loop that often goes undetected until a connection fails. Infrared imaging catches it at the heat stage, before the failure.
4. Building an Integrated Risk-Reduction Workflow
The practical question is how to structure these two services so that they reinforce each other. Here is a workflow that actually delivers on the combined value.
Step 1: Conduct or Update the Arc Flash Assessment
Start with engineering. Make sure your arc flash study reflects current system conditions, including any load additions, equipment changes, or utility service modifications since the last study. The output gives you incident energy values and equipment-level risk classifications across your facility.
Step 2: Use Arc Flash Data to Prioritize Thermographic Focus Areas
Not all equipment carries equal arc flash risk. Use your study results to rank equipment by incident energy level. Thermographic scanning should cover all equipment, but findings in high-incident-energy locations should be flagged for priority review and faster corrective action timelines.
Step 3: Schedule Thermographic Scanning Under Operating Load
Thermal anomalies only show up under load. Schedule scanning during normal operations, ideally near peak load conditions. For most facilities, this means avoiding early mornings, weekends, and off-season periods when equipment is running well below rated capacity.
Step 4: Cross-Reference Findings Against Arc Flash Equipment Labels
When thermographic findings are reported, compare each anomaly location against your arc flash equipment labels. A critical finding at equipment labeled for Category 3 or Category 4 PPE is a higher-priority corrective action than the same type of anomaly at a low-energy panel. This cross-reference turns two separate reports into an integrated risk register.
Step 5: Address Findings and Update Records
Corrective actions from thermographic scanning can directly affect your arc flash risk profile. A repaired high-resistance connection improves system reliability and may reduce the probability of a fault event at that location. Document findings, corrective actions, and re-inspection confirmations as part of your ongoing electrical safety program record.
Related reading: Thermographic Scanning vs. Visual Inspections: Why You Need Both for Electrical Safety
5. Compliance and Documentation Value of the Integrated Approach
NFPA 70E requires employers to establish and implement an electrical safety program that includes safe work practices, hazard identification, and equipment maintenance. OSHA 1910.132 requires hazard assessments that support PPE selection. Both frameworks are satisfied more completely when arc flash assessment data is supported by documented thermographic inspection records showing the physical condition of the equipment.
From a liability perspective, the combination is also stronger. If an arc flash incident occurs and your facility faces OSHA investigation or civil litigation, documentation showing a current arc flash assessment alongside regular thermographic inspection records demonstrates a systematic, good-faith approach to electrical hazard management. Either document alone tells a partial story. Together, they tell a complete one.
Related reading: Is Your NFPA 70E Training Program Audit-Ready?
How Shaw Consulting Integrates Both Services
Shaw Consulting Services provides both arc flash assessment and thermographic scanning services, and their approach is explicitly designed to make the two work together rather than in parallel silos. When facilities engage Shaw for both services, findings from thermographic scanning are evaluated against arc flash study data, and corrective action recommendations reflect the actual risk profile of each piece of equipment rather than generic severity rankings.
For facilities that already have a current arc flash study and need thermographic inspection, Shaw can work from existing study data. For facilities that need both, Shaw can structure the engagement so that each service informs the other.
Facilities across the Atlanta metro and throughout Georgia work with Shaw to build integrated electrical safety programs that hold up under scrutiny and actually protect workers. If your arc flash assessment and thermographic inspection program are running on separate tracks, it is worth having a conversation about what a more integrated approach would look like for your facility.
Arc flash risk has two sides: consequence and likelihood. Contact Shaw Consulting today to learn how integrating thermographic scanning with your arc flash assessment addresses both and builds an electrical safety program that actually prevents incidents.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does thermographic scanning relate to arc flash safety?
Thermographic scanning identifies heat anomalies in electrical equipment that indicate high-resistance connections, failing components, and overloaded conductors. These same conditions are fault initiation pathways that can lead to arc flash events. Scanning addresses the likelihood side of arc flash risk, while an arc flash assessment addresses the consequence side. Together, they provide a complete picture.
Do I need an arc flash assessment if I already have thermographic inspection records?
Yes. Thermographic scanning shows equipment condition but does not calculate incident energy, establish PPE requirements, or determine approach boundaries. Those require an engineering study under NFPA 70E. The two services address different aspects of electrical risk and are both necessary for a complete safety program.
What severity level of thermographic finding should trigger immediate action?
Most thermographic reporting frameworks classify findings by temperature differential. High-severity findings, typically those showing temperature rises well above the baseline of similar equipment, warrant immediate corrective action. But severity classification should also account for arc flash incident energy at that location. A moderate finding at high-incident-energy equipment may warrant faster action than a higher-temperature finding in a low-risk panel.
How often should thermographic scanning be conducted as part of an arc flash safety program?
Annual thermographic inspections, conducted under appropriate load conditions, are a widely accepted standard for facilities with active electrical safety programs. Higher-risk facilities or those with aging infrastructure may benefit from twice-yearly inspections. After major system changes, a re-scan confirms that new equipment and connections are performing within acceptable thermal parameters.
Can thermographic findings change what my arc flash labels should say?
Not directly. Arc flash labels reflect incident energy calculations from the engineering study, which are based on system configuration and fault current, not equipment condition. However, if thermographic findings reveal that a protective device is degraded and may not clear faults within the assumed clearing time, the arc flash study should be reviewed. In that sense, thermographic findings can trigger an arc flash study update.
Shaw Consulting Services LLC | Atlanta, GA | Electrical Engineering & Safety Consulting